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A verdict has been reached in the Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard defamation trial on Wednesday (June 1). After three days of deliberations, the seven-person jury in Fairfax, Virginia, reached a unanimous decision in favor of Johnny Depp, voting "yes" in all cases.
The jury awarded Depp $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages. The jury also found in favor of Heard, who was awarded $2 million in her defamation countersuit case which claims she was defamed by Depp's lawyer when he said her abuse allegations were a hoax.
Due to "previously scheduled work commitments," Depp was not in court for the verdict, according to CNN. He was watching live "from the United Kingdom." Heard was in the courtroom.
For the past six weeks, the jury has heard both sides of the case, including the alleged abuse Heard said she suffered. The jury's duty was to determine whether specific parts in her op-ed defamed the Pirates of the Caribbean star. The jury also had to answer the question of whether the Washington Post article was written with "actual malice."
Depp is suing Heard over a Washington Post op-ed she wrote in 2018 about surviving domestic violence. Depp wasn't named in the article, but he claims the piece negatively impacted his career. He filed the $50 million lawsuit in 2019. Heard filed a $100 million countersuit that claims her career was destroyed after her ex-husband's lawyer Adam Waldman said she made up her domestic abuse allegations, according to the New York Post.
Read Johnny Depp's statement here.
Read Amber Heard's statement here.